Back in the early 70’s when I attended Hillcrest H. S., we used a phrase when we were about to drop the gloves so to speak. You and your adversary would bump into each other and at least one of the combatants would exclaim, “Bumping it up it up, Jack.” It was the hockey equivalent of “Do you want to dance?” I recall Rick (Andy) Anderson and Ronnie (Spooky) Williams bumping it up on the way to a high school basketball game, in the back of the bus. Who says basketball is a non contact sport!

During Wednesday’s battle with a surging Calgary team, Brent Seabrook played with such might and force he resembled an air craft carrier. Brent was bumping it up with anything that crossed his path. “I’m a steam roller baby, I’ll roll right over you,” appeared to be his game plan. Before you go pointing out that Seabrook is Canadian and wouldn’t have a US aircraft carrier named after him, get a clue. You think the Hawks meeting with President Obama next week is a formality? The President is going to announce the commissioning of our newest aircraft carrier. Do you really think the Taliban wants to see the USS Brent Seabrook cruising their way – Forget about it! The pirates in Somalia are already thinking about taking up fishing as a occupation.

The cantankerous Seabrook especially impressed me the way he cleared out the crease after the whistle blew. It’s about time someone else besides Kopecks gets a facial for lingering around the net. I was a bit surprised when I asked Chris Block what he thought about signing Seabrook about 3 weeks ago. Basically he said the #7 car was worth every cent of $5 million for what he brought to the blue line. When you think about it, unless Scott is pressed into emergency duty, he’s the only really physical d-man we have.Continue reading »